Impressions of China: Landmarks

One of the items on my bucket list has always been to walk down the path along the Great Wall of China. I don’t know where the desire came from, since I’ve also always wondered if it was built to protect the country from intruders or to keep the people from escaping. Its majesty, its insane height, its steep stairs and even steeper trails left me breathless.

After a few days of walking through crowded streets and the omnipresent smog, I needed a little rest from the over-stimulation, so I visited Beihai park – beautiful and huge, its lake with water lilies reminded me of how nature, trees and water are so important in a city so big. And as always, I noticed the details on the simple stair rail.

I’m no fan of imperial monuments, blame it on my conscience, so I passed quickly through the many (and similar) buildings to find peace and a little quiet in the park right behind them. It was impossible to approach the gorgeous old trees, but interestingly shaped rocks were in abundance.

I’m a writer, so I read a lot. One of the spots I had to visit was Lao Tse’s home, and to my surprise, I found it in a tiny alleyway between decrepit hutongs. His was perfectly kept, though, since it’s been renovated into a museum.

What I sought next was architecture, details, what makes Beijing different from other Chinese cities. I think I found it, and will show you in my conclusion, next week.

11 responses to “Impressions of China: Landmarks”

Had a reply typed up and lost my internet connection. >:-( Anyway, people who live in cities seem to develop an ability to shut out everyone and everything. I can imagine it’s the only way to survive being surrounded by hordes of people at all time.

I would love to see the Great Wall, especially the less-preserved sections. Something about ruins always enchants me.

After struggling a little with the overpowering nature of China’s urban areas, it’s nice to read there were places you could fall in love with. 🙂

From reading your descriptions, it really seems as though the cultural disparity is reflected in the country’s landmarks- a rich ancient culture of which to be proud, overlaid with landmarks which celebrate a political regime, rather than the people it purports to represent…

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